Hybrid .4 09
'WARNING: THERE WILL BE A BRIEF USAGE OF MILD SWEAR WORDS. IF YOU ARE UNOKAY WITH THIS, THE AUTHOR OF THIS STORY RECOMMENDS SKIPPING THIS CHAPTER.' Author's Note #1: The events that occur in this story are based off Human .4. The story was written by Mike A. Lancaster, and this author is not affiliated with Human .4 in any way. Author's note #2: This is a continuation of Hybrid .4 08. It will only make sense if you read the link above. Author's Note #3: An image of champagne is used in this chapter. The characters in this chapter don't actually drink champagne, and this author is not recommending readers do so as well. Author's Note #4: This author owns none of the art and images shown. ---- Let me tell you a quick story. This story doesn't really have to do with 0.4 or Upgrades, but rather, is something more sentimental to me. On the first date Maddie and I went on, I was determined to impress her. I brushed my hair, freshened my breath, and even wore borrowed one of my Dad's super fancy tuxedos in order to look good. Ethan told me before I left that I looked stupid, but I ignored his advice. Maddie had to know I wasn't like other boys, that I could be romantic. We went to eat at a super fancy place I'd gone on a special occasion with my family once. I didn't even enjoy the food there, but that didn't matter to me. As long as my date enjoyed it. Her father pulled up to drop her off at the restaurant, and as she stepped out, my jaw hit the floor. She looked gorgeous. She had on a light purple sleeveless dress, and wore glittery tights and a gold charm bracelet on her right arm. Her blue hair had been tied back in a neat ponytail, and her mascara made her gray eyes glow. Compared to me, she was a goddess, and I was the troll under the bridge. The first few moments we spent together were quiet and awkward. Truth be told, I had no idea what to say to her. Normally, she was just a nerd with glasses and blue hair, but now...it was like she was a different person. Finally, I'd gotten my courage together. "Um, Maddie?" "Yes?" She'd glanced at me shyly. "I hope you're enjoying the..uh..." I had cleared my throat. "You look very pretty." Maddie had looked away. "Oh. Um, thanks." I'd been losing her interest. What was I to talk about with her? "You know what-I can't take it anymore. I'm not this romantic in real life, but guess what? I don't care. Because I love you Madeline Ervin, and you mean the world and back to me. You're not just pretty, you're funny and cute and I know you hate your laugh but I think it's the best thing ever. So either you accept me for who I am, or don't accept me at all. But this-all of this fancy stuff-this isn't me." She'd stared at me with wide eyes for a few seconds, and I'd been convinced I was a goner. But then, to my surprise, she'd begun laughing. ---- This is not about you, 0.4, this is about us. Vindex had been going on for the past ten minutes like that. Something about religion, and how some people didn't believe in 0.4. Whatever the case was, nobody was interested. I knew that we'd been trapped inside by Kira, Nat, and Vindex. Problem was, for some reason, they couldn't tell I'' was there. I'd tried yelling at them, but the others didn't approve. So we were stuck in a glass dome like hamsters in a cage. And the people outside of it were too tired and too scared to look for a way to get us out. "Is he going to ''shut up already?" Lilly groaned. I rolled my eyes. "He'll stop when pigs fly. Which means no, never." "You never know." Eric spoke up. "Maybe The Programmers also created pigs, and in their next Upgrade, they'll get wings." "I can no longer tell if they're trying to bore us to death or not." Heidi muttered from the other side. Please stop speaking, 0.4. Vindex ordered. For the sake of all Strakerites. Wait a minute...what? I might have been tripping over the lack of oxygen, but I was pretty sure Vindex said Strakerites. I glanced over at Kyle, who was sitting against the back of the dome. He noticed me staring, and avoided eye contact. "Vindex, talk to me." I bit my lip, as I turned to the robot who put me in a hundred-year-coma. "What on Earth are Strakerites?" Good question, Trev-or. Strakerities are 1.0 who believe in the tapes of Ky-le Str-ay-ker. ...No. "Kyle, how do the 1.0 know about you?" I frowned, as the rest of The Unicorns turned to him at the sound of his name. He was hiding something. The look in his eyes proved that. "Um...I-I dunno. W-how's this robot know your name?" "Kyle? Is this robot talking about those tapes you recorded?" Lilly raised an eyebrow. "N-no." Kyle Straker stammered, obviously lying. "I don't know what it's talking about. Why is nobody concerned about Trevor? He knows this robot's name, for God's sake!" The girl with curly red hair was looking between me and Kyle, as if deciding which one of us was the bigger problem. "That...thing has a name?!" Of course I have a name. I'd never seen Vindex be angry before. It was given to me by Danny Birnie. Kyle's breathing started to shorten. Once again, he looked worried. "Danny Birnie?!" ---- "Wh-what's so funny?" I'd asked her. Maddie had smiled as she continued to laugh. "Nothing, it's just that-well, I'm not really about this fancy life either." "Really?" I was so confused. "But....I thought all girls liked stuff liked this." "No, of course not! Honestly, I would've preferred if we'd just ordered pizza and watched Mean Girls." She'd giggled. My stomach had sunk. "So...are you mad?" "Why would I be mad?" Maddie had asked me. "Most boys have tried to invite me to places like this, but only a true gentlemen would admit how much a girl matters to them." "You really think so?" I'd grinned. She'd given me a wink. "I know so." "Good to know." I'd adjusted my tie. "Would you toast to this lovely evening, m'lady?" "Of course, good sir." She'd picked up her drink. And with that, we clinked our glasses together, making my Friday night complete. ---- "Vindex-quick question: who's Danny Birnie?!" The crowd of 0.4 was getting aroused by our chatting and asking questions to a piece of silver with a brain. Daniel Matthew Birnie. Vindex projected an image from his left eye. Robotic genius and former Strakerite. He was mentioned in the Straker tapes, but he claimed to not remember such events according to interviews. He disappeared in 2045, and chose the alias of-'' "WHAT ARE YOU DOING, VINDEX?!" He was interrupted (again) by the sound of Nat's father coming over in a storm. If Vindex could cry, he would. ''I was talking to the 0.4. They have feelings, too. "I know, Vindex, but if you tell them too much, they might get the wrong idea!" The man snapped, pressing a button on the back of his robot. Vindex's eyes lit up for a second, and then his head lowered. I'd never liked Vindex that much, but seeing him shut down made me feel sympathetic for him. "Hey, leave him alone! He's just doing his job!" "Did you shut down my robot?!" Kira walked up toward the dome in the same matter as Nat's father. "You can't do that! He's our only way to communicate with the 0.4!" "Young lady, I am the adult here. I will do what I want with your device!" He replied, grabbing Vindex by his metal shoulder. Kira looked over our way for a second. "B-b-but...he's mine." "Speak like that, and nobody will want to be friends with you. Now, come along Nat." Mr. Morarity dragged Vindex across the grass, turning his back on us. Just then, something overcame me. The hologram of Danny, Nat's father... "DANNY BIRNIE!" ---- After we'd ate, we'd left the place, and I'd driven Maddie home. But when I checked my watch, the time had said 9:34. Way too early to go to bed. I'd had an idea. I had a part-time job delivering pizzas for Domino's, and even though the gig was good, I never really enjoyed it that much, so I quit. Yeah, I know, big deal. But this was before I dropped out. I'd called my boss, and he agreed I could work for a few extra hours. Not like I was actually working though. There was only one place I was stopping. "Trevor?" Maddie had answered the door. I'd grinned from ear to ear. "Hey, Maddie. You ordered Domino's?" "No, no I didn't." She'd looked confused, until she saw what I held in my other hand. "Mean Girls?" "It was twenty bucks off at Target. I figured it isn't too late to watch it, to make up for my crappy date. That is, if your folks don't mind." I'd offered the DVD to her. She'd taken it from me, and smiled that amazing smile again. "Absolutely. Come on in." An hour later, we were sitting in her room, watching the film together. Her parents were the sweetest people ever, and they were more than happy to have me, as long as I didn't make too much of a mess. "Hey, uh, Maddie?" I'd directed my attention towards my new girlfriend. She'd glanced up from her laptop. "What's up?" "I hope this is a better date than the last one." I'd taken out the earbud, snuggling closer to her. "And that you don't think I'm too lousy." "After everything you told me at the restaurant, plus this? You're a ladies' man, Trevor Tiorano." Maddie had smirked, placing her hand on my chin. I'd grabbed her wrist, trying to not take this to the next level too quickly. "Aw, thanks. So, does this mean I can be your boyfriend for a bit longer?" She didn't respond. But she didn't need to. Because her kiss on my lips was answered all my questions. ---- That stopped Nat's father dead in his tracks. "I know it's you, Danny." I whispered. My body was vibrating, my vision gone blurry. "And I know you can see me." "Who are you? How do you know my real identity?" A grown-up Danny Birnie stood before me. Memories that weren't mine were flowing through my brain. "Oh, please. You died in 2045, but as you're sitting there, dead, the Programmers show up. They offer you a deal: you can possess your next doppelgänger's body, Yondu Morarity, but in exchange, you have to destroy Kyle Straker and Lilly Dartington. And of course you take the offer, because that's how much of a selfish bitch you are." "Trevor?!" Kira placed a hand over her mouth when she saw me. "Oh my God, how did you get in there?!" "Don't you know who that man is?!" I was going insane. And I loved it. Kira slowly turned in the direction of Yondu Morarity. "D-Danny Birnie?" "He trapped me in here!" I could hear screams from the 0.4, but they were so faint. "He's been doing this for years, with Nat's help! He tells everybody who finds out this will allow for peace, but what about us? Did he ever once think about the 0.4 he was deleting?!" "Shut your hole! You don't know anything about my Dad!" Nat protested. I felt like...I was being possessed. "I know one thing: if you let your Dad summon this vestigivore, it's over. He will destroy every last 0.4, without stopping! Do you really want that?!" Nat went pale. "ENOUGH!" Danny screamed, snatching the tablet from Kira's hands. "You know what-yes, I am going to destroy all of the 0.4, but who's going to find out?! I'll get the Programmers to erase Kira and Nat's memories of tonight, so they won't even remember you were deleted!" "Don't." In the blink of an eye, Kyle and Lilly appeared in my vision. Both of their eyes were purple. As the sun rose, they were here to help me for what might be the last time. "Danny, what's happened to you?" Lilly was somehow out of the dome. "You used to be so nice, and so much fun to be around, but now..." "Now, you've lost your mind. But it doesn't have to be that way." Kyle held a gentle hand out. "Please, just let us go." At the sight of his old friends, Danny was astonished. His eyes teared up beneath his glasses, and he was speechless. For even the shortest of moments, I had hope he would let us go. Then he pressed a button on the tablet. ---- I can barely remember what happened next. The dome I'd been trapped in opened itself up, and compressed itself into that small square box again. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Danny leaving with Kira, Nat, and Vindex. But I let them get away. I had more important problems. For instance: all the 0.4 present were staring at me, and the adrenaline I'd felt earlier, all of it was gone. "What just happened?" Eric demanded to know. Heidi was at loss for words. "You have a lot of explaining to do, Trevor." "Um, guys." A boy with light brown hair stepped forward. "Hate to disturb your moment here, but, look up." We looked up. As soon as we did, though, we were blown off our feet. The wind had suddenly gotten extremely heavy. Like, heavy enough to blow away a crashed car. A loud roaring sound could be heard beneath the wind, and it hurt my ears. A vestigivore. It was here. "Everyone, run!" Kyle screamed, trying to get up. Why am I always just a second too late for everything? First The Upgrade, and now this. Maybe if I were faster, I could've gotten away. But maybe I wanted to lose myself to this beast. After what I put everyone through, it only seemed what I deserved. So I got to my feet, stood with both my arms spread out, and took a breath as the vestigivore swallowed me whole. Category:Stories Category:H.4 Parts Category:The Upgrade Parts